SolvedPAYE21151 | Employer records: maintain employer record: lost or destroyed records (Action Guide)
From HM Revenue & Customs · PAYE Manual
To take the necessary action when you are notified that an employer records have been lost or destroyed, follow steps 1 - 8 below. This Guide is presented as follows
Steps 1 - 2
Steps 3 - 4
Steps 5 - 8
For details of how to access any of the Employer Business Service functions, use PAYE057.
Notification that records are lost / destroyed
1. Review the information received and take the following action
Pass correspondence to the PAYE section
2. PAYE section must contact the employer to establish whether they have enough information to reconstruct duplicate records, if so
Go to step 3, otherwise
Go to step 5
The employer record can be reconstructed
3. When the employer has enough information the PAYE section must
Reissue a form P6 for each employee whose records have been lost (see PAYE106010 for more information about reissuing forms)
Send another supply of Deductions Working Sheets if the employer needs them
Ask the employer, in a covering letter, to prepare duplicate Working Sheets. These must show the particulars shown on the original Working Sheets of pay, tax and National Insurance contributions
Inform the Debt Management Office of the action taken
To provide duplicate code notifications, and
Any additional information supplied to the employer
Notify the employer unit of the action taken
4. The PAYE Employer Office must
Notify the local National Insurance Contributions office about the loss of the employer deduction records
Use Function AMEND EMPLOYER INDICATORS to enter the year related indicator ‘RECONSTRUCT’ on the employer record
Use Function AMEND EMPLOYER NOTES to record your actions and then file the print-out in the employer record pad
Records cannot be reconstructed
5. When the employer does not have enough information the PAYE section must
Amend each live employee's code to Week 1 / Month 1 basis, but do not calculate any potential underpayment (see PAYE11120 for more information about issuing a tax code)
Remind the employer they can see more information on Week 1 / Month 1 tax codes if they go to GOV.UK/HMRC homepage for Operating PAYE in real time
Inform the Debt Management Office that duplicate code notifications have been issued to operate on a Week 1 / Month 1 basis. The Debt Management Office will try to reconstruct the records with the help of the employer. Send a list in three parts to the Debt Management Office giving the following information
Part A. Names, codes and National Insurance numbers of all live employees. Give the date employment started if this was during a year for which the employer's records have been lost
Part B. Names, codes and National Insurance numbers of all employees for whom leaver records are held covering any year for which the employer's records have been lost. Give the period of service with the employer
Part C. Names and National Insurance numbers of employees shown on the last form P35 received who are not included in Parts A or B. Exclude employees who left in the year to which the form P35 relates
6. PAYE section must
Advise the employer unit of the action taken
7. The PAYE Employer Office will
Use Function AMEND EMPLOYER INDICATORS to enter the year related indicator ‘INSTIND (1)’
Use Function AMEND EMPLOYER NOTES to record your actions and then file the print-out in the employer record pad
8. You may be informed by the Debt Management Office at a later date that an amount has been transferred to Permanent Overpayment. In this event
Use Function CAPTURE EOY RETURN DETAILS to capture any POP return received from the Debt Management Office
Use Function AMEND EMPLOYER NOTES to record your actions and then file the print-out in the employer record pad